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Lindsey Cobb was sidelined with a torn quadricep muscle the first 13 games of the season for the women’s soccer team at Wheaton College.

But the senior captain from Shrewsbury put all her energy into her rehabilitation and supporting her teammates before returning to the Lyons lineup on Oct. 12. A week later, she played every minute of a 0-0 overtime tie against Babson. She was a starter the rest of the way, anchoring a stingy defense that fueled Wheaton’s run to the second round of the NCAA Division 3 tournament.

This afternoon, she will make what could be her final appearance as a collegian, suiting up in the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association Senior Bowl at Merrimack College.

“Because of the time I missed, I was surprised to be chosen for the Senior Bowl, but it was a great honor and a great feeling to know I had one more game to play,’’ said Cobbs, a former captain at St. Peter-Marian High School in Worcester.

Cobb appeared in 10 matches, making eight starts at center back, and helped Wheaton post an 0.70 goals-against average with 14 shutouts.

“It is a testament to her that she did everything possible through her rehab to get back on the field,’’ said Wheaton coach Luis Reis, whose 16-4-3 squad earned a berth in the NCAA tournament for the 12th consecutive season. “Once we inserted her into the lineup, she brought leadership to the back four.’’

Cobb missed her sophomore season at the Norton college while battling mononucleosis, and received a hardship waiver that gives her a year of eligibility remaining. She hasn’t decided whether to play another season.

“I tried hard to be a good leader and a good role model for teammates who have had to come back from injury and know it’s not the end of the world. I also take a lot of pride in my one-on-one defense,’’ said Cobb, who started playing youth soccer in Shrewsbury at age 5 and was an all-state selection her senior year of high school.

Lexington, Bedford roots in 5-0 start

The Fitchburg State University men’s basketball team won just four games last season. But thanks to the contributions of a trio of area players - former Lexington High teammates Tom Henneberry and Sean Sullivan, and Bedford High graduate Mike Ingram-Rubin - the Falcons were off to a 5-0 start this year after Monday’s 77-74 win over Nichols.

Henneberry, a junior small forward who played eight games last season, was averaging 21.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game; Sullivan, a senior guard, was leading the team with 17 assists, and Ingram-Rubin, a sophomore guard, was averaging 14.2 points and 6 rebounds and had 19 steals.

The 6-foot-4 Henneberry, who played his first two seasons at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, is battling hamstring problems and is day to day.

“Sean has been real solid at the point,’’ said head coach Derek Shell, “Tom has a shooting touch and has been a real workman on the boards, and Mike has really helped us become an up-tempo team.’’

Newton standout Bob Fitzgerald; 85

Longtime Newton resident Bob Fitzgerald, a standout athlete at Our Lady’s High School (now Trinity Catholic) in Newton and a former Boston Braves farmhand who overcame adversity as a college athlete, died Nov. 13 at age 85.

After serving in the military during World War II, he enrolled at Boston College, where he was a varsity basketball and baseball player. Fitzgerald led the Eagles in RBIs and batted .310 as a junior catcher. However, he suffered a severed right heel in an automobile accident in 1947 and spent 18 months in rehabilitation after numerous skin grafts.

Wearing a specially constructed shoe, Fitzgerald returned to BC for his senior season, and graduated in 1951. While playing summer ball in Canada for the Halifax Capitals, Fitzgerald met Shirley Hayes, a former Miss Halifax winner. They were married for 50 years before her death in 2003.

Fitzgerald was inducted into the Nova Scotia Athletic Hall of Fame.

He retired at age 72 as the chief of probation at Waltham District Court.

Here and there

Liane Blyn of Milford earned three medals at the International Powerlifting Federation’s annual Women’s World Championships, held recently in Pilsen, Czech Republic. She won a silver in the bench press (358 pounds), as well as bronze medals in the deadlift event (484), and for her overall performance, which included a personal-best 518 pounds in the squat. Blyn also placed third overall at last year’s event, held in South Africa, and recently won the USA Power Lifting Women’s National Championships . . . Bentley University senior midfielder Stephanie Sideris (Watertown High School) has been named to the Longstreth All-America team by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. “Nobody has had a bigger impact on our program over the last four years than Stephanie,’’ said head coach Jessica Spencer. “She was our best player with the ball and also an outstanding defender.’’ . . . Worcester Polytechnic Institute freshman guard Marco Coppola (Watertown High) put on a show in an 86-55 win over Elms College with a career-high 28 points on 12 of 13 shooting . . . Stonehill College senior guard Andre Tongo (Acton-Boxborough Regional High) also had a hot hand with a career-high 22 points that included 5-for-11 three-pointers in a 73-64 overtime win over Merrimack. Tongo was averaging 11.5 points per game for the Skyhawks before scoring 17 on Wednesday against visiting University of Massachusetts Lowell. The 72-59 win left his team at 4-2 (3-1 Northeast-10). “Andre has really begun to blossom this year as a player and leader,’’ said coach David McLaughlin. “His work ethic, attitude, and approach to practice each day truly help to define what we want our program to be.’’ . . . Bridgewater State University freshman Christina Minich of Wellesley was named Little East Conference Women’s Diver of the Week after placing second on the 1-meter board and third on the 3-meter against Roger Williams. She already had personal bests of 185.80 points on the 1-meter against Regis College and 171 points on the 3-meter against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth . . . The fourth annual Garrett Reagan Hockey Summit will be held today at New England Sports Center in Marlborough. Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli and Holy Cross men’s coach Paul Pearl will be the keynote speakers for the event, which will feature 48 varsity boys’ teams and six varsity girls’ squads from Eastern Massachusetts.